Liftoff: a new site to help launch young investors

POSTED ON October 02, 2014 BY Shannon Nelson
CATEGORY Stories,

These men, blogger/wealth managers Barry Ritholtz and Joshua Brown, have created an interesting (and untested) tool for young investors. Business Insider photo

When I was training to be an investment advisor years ago under the tutelage of the legendary Ivan Moldowan of Pemberton Securities, one of the first things we learned was that under no circumstances were we to go after any brokerage account worth less than $10k. I recall thinking that was a little harsh, and wondering what happened to young investors who hadn't built up equity in their accounts yet. The reality was they had to trade their own hunches with less than honest/intelligent/scrupulous 'bucket shop' brokers, or depend on said vermin to manage their accounts. More often than not, these accounts quickly eroded.

Even until recently, young investors have not generally had access to 'tried and true' senior advisors, (unless Daddy was a big client or Mommy was particularly cute), and the younger generation also harbors a basic distrust of financial markets (understandable given they witnessed the financial crisis of 2008). Since time is an important element in building wealth (talking compounded returns here), these kids need to get started building their portfolios asap.

That's how Ritholtz Wealth CEO Josh Brown and CIO Barry Ritholtz feel, and they've launched a new website called 'Liftoff' to help young investors get going. It's not the first 'robo advisor' site, but it is a site for users with $5000 minimum to interact specifically with the aforementioned strategists, who are both popular bloggers and well known on Wall Street . And it's easy to set up and use, thanks to a super simple interface. Here's what it looks like when you first log onto the site:

Once you've answered a few questions about your financial goals etc., you see a projection of what your portfolio will look like:

Depending on what you input, your money will be invested in a plan that is comprised of a combination of ETFs, with, according to the site, a “regimented rebalancing strategy” automatically built in.

Obviously, for a tech savvy generation, this is a friendly way to get advice from senior advisors with integrity and experience, and it doesn't cost a fortune. The annual fee is just 40 basis points; using the $5000 minimum, that works out to a measly $1.70 per month. Once you've started, you just sit back and watch the money grow.

Of course, if your money grows too much, you may get to actually sit down face to face and talk to a senior advisor. But don't worry, by the time you're rich, they'll have all the time in the world for you.

In the meantime, go to liftoff to get help from some guys who care about you now.

Hat tip to Linette Lopez at Business Insider for the scoop and photos (original).

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson is an accomplished writer, interviewer, and radio and television host, formerly with CFUN, VisionTV, the Biography Channel and CBC Television. Before starting a family in the early 80's, Shannon was a stock broker at Pemberton Securities and Canarim Securities (now Canaccord). She is the mother of CEO.ca founder Tommy Humphreys. More →

pinkynel@gmail.com

Shannon Nelson

pinkynel@gmail.com

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